Richard Moore

Good question! This is from the pdf... I'm assuming that is poorly translated Korean. As far as I can tell, the main differences between the box and the usual on-the-wall plumbing are the built-in expansion tank and the "priority valve". As I pointed out, it's not clear if that expansion tank suffices. The priority valve sounds fancy, but is it needed? It also seems odd that besides the usual tempering valve for the potable water, there is a second one in the box for the heating water. Why would there be any need to temper the heating water when you can control that temperature at the water heater itself? My first phone call was to the distributer who knew very little other than "We don't sell many of those." Not exactly a ringing endorsement!

New townhouse with a Rinnai heater feeding wall convectors and potable water through an AQ Energy "Heating Box" (actually a KyungDong KD-HBO100). Click to Enlarge 46.19 KB Click to Enlarge 64.48 KB I've not seen one these boxes before, which appear to be a super-duper tempering/circulation system. Anyway...my issue is that there was no "normal" thermal expansion tank despite the presence of a pressure reducer at the water service entrance. I googled info on the heating box and found that it does have an internal expansion tank. http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/lowenerg ... manual.pdf However, when I subsequently contacted a tech guy at KyungDong he basically informed me that the expansion tank in the box only serves the heating system and wouldn't take the place of a thermal expansion tank, if one were required. Unfortunately, I'm not totally convinced he actually knew what he was talking about. I'm going to report the TX tank as missing, with the "option" of the builder supplying my client with good documentaion why one wasn't installed. Just wondering if anyone was familiar with the set-up and associated TX tank requirements?

That's panned joist - a duct made by applying sheet metal across the bottoms of two adjacent joists. The staples are going into the wood on the side and through the metal and into the wood on the bottom. - Jim Katen, Oregon Doh!!! Thanks Jim. Time to get my eyes checked again!

"...non-roofing coatings, and roof coatings." Wouldn't that then be ALL coatings?

I like the staples into the heating duct. Can't say I've seen that before.

Richard: Why is the top of the left end of the middle wire brown if it's single strand aluminum? Erby, it was meant as an example of single strand tinned copper, not aluminum. Hence the obvious copper at the cut ends. See the file name when you click on the photo. Sorry, by this time I'd forgotten about the thread title and thought we were just talking about tinned copper. I'll edit that post a bit to avoid further confusion.

Tinned copper wiring is also used in marine applications to prevent corrosion (at least in boats - don't know about "ships"). Because of the vibrations, that wiring is all stranded stuff, no matter what size or voltage.

and some single strand stuff...(tinned copper that is) Click to Enlarge 35.06 KB

I am not amused! Kim Jong-il

If it was inside a room, I'd suspect it used to control a heater for some type of exotic pets...or a grow operation. If it's in the upper hallway, I don't have a clue. Any power to the wiring?

I'd write it up for lack of a non-combustible hearth extension...in very small print.

Am I seeing the neighbors house in that first photo with a downspout discharging above grade towards the problem area? If so, that's not helping either.

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What is Bull Dogs? Brand name? Issues? Bulldog Pushmatic panels. See http://www.inspect-ny.com/electric/Pushmatic.htm . Read the whole page. It's probably best summed up in the paragraph...

Looking at the color of the area just above the mushrooms as well as the way the filler appears to have been scraped, rather than squeezed, into the gaps, I wonder if they used some interior grade wood filler, rather than an exterior grade "caulk". That might be what the fungi is feeding on.

There ya go Dave. Chad has two. You just need to find something to swap with him for one. Hint...if it's old, obsolete and rusty, he can't resist.

What others have said...there's probably a service disconnect at a bank of panels hidden away in a room somewhere in the complex which, of course, would mean the neutrals and grounds should be separated. It's either wrong that way, or wrong because of the number of throws. It can not be right! Ummm, yes, most likely, but that isn't one of them. There are no feeders from one double-pole breaker returning to anything else in the panel so, unless they have somehow welded the upper and lower busses together behind the breakers, there would be no way for the bottom half to be energized. One final thing...what the hell is going on with that top right (2-pole?) GFCI breaker. There's a short black wire that looks like it's looped from one pole to the other???

Hi Mike. I don't have any scientific theories other than it doesn't seem like a good idea to force air into a crawl year round when, at times, that outside air might have extremely high humidity. The exhaust fan would also be sucking air in from the other vents and it seems unlikely that the air exchange would be very even. Do you know if the other two units also had fans? I've only seen powered vents once. It was also a new home (2007, client had lived there for a month), but a single level SFR. In that case there were 3 fans located "evenly" around the otherwise normally vented crawl. All were arranged to exhaust, and all were controlled by humidistats. There was nothing else unusual about the house and I don't know why they were installed in this particular home, but there was a plate near the crawl access from a "mold" company. I vaguely remember discussing them with the client who was unaware of the fans or any special reason for them. As there were no indications of moisture problems, or any visible mold, I reported their presence but made no other recommendations. Click to Enlarge 83.26 KB Click to Enlarge 24.03 KB

I have measured and the clearance is 5 and 1/2 inches to the wall. I hope this will not be a major issue. What type of problems may occur when having the AC unit too close to the wall? Thanks! It would restrict air movement through the coil and make the unit less efficient. If the rest of your clearances are OK it seems unlikely that the 1/2" is going to make a noticeable difference. I certainly would not regard it as a "major issue". However, with the bends in your piping it looks like it would be very easy to loosen the mounting bolts/clamps/whatever* and move it out an inch or so...so why not? (*If it involves drilling new holes I wouldn't bother.) BTW...this is assuming the clearances in your manual are the same as the ones I posted for the 13ACC unit?

I couldn't find an online install manual for a 13ACX but did find one for a 13ACC unit. If the clearance requirements are the same then one side is allowed to be as close as 6" to the wall (no less). Click to Enlarge 53.58 KB BTW...Here's the diagram the OP mentioned regarding elbows. Click to Enlarge 37.9 KB

I would guess you just had the one loose connection. The subsequent arcing at that point was enough to heat up the bus bar locally and char and melt the other close-by wires. The damage seems to get less as you get further away from the worst of those near the bottom of your photo.

No photos but I did find a couple of old ads. Click to Enlarge 78.86 KB Click to Enlarge 27.28 KB Inspect-ny has some photos, but mostly of damage. And, of course, they have that copyright thingy...

What Robert said! Mainly because of the sink, I would suspect you have a short to the homes grounding system, including the water piping. That would also cause problems with any grounded appliance. It could be at an appliance that is either hard-wired or left plugged in or it could be almost anywhere in the home wiring. You really should call an electrician, but you might first try unplugging everything portable. You should use a voltage detector of some type at the sink or other ground, not the "vibrating" method. If that's still registering current, then turn off the breaker to your furnace, AC, anything hard wired and try again. You might be able to at least isolate the circuit that way but not necessarily exactly where the short is. This is all assuming you have tools I suspect you don't have. Did I mention YOU SHOULD CALL AN ELECTRICIAN?

"...this website has the answer to everything!" That would be 42. []

In your first photo John, it looks like there is maybe some powdery white frass around the dead beetles(?). That would be consistent with anobiids exiting from somewhere above. But...it might not be and it's all really just a guess, tough to tell from the photos, and a good reason why pest inspections are done on site and not remotely.